• @genie
    link
    21 year ago

    You’re missing the entire point of the free software movement. Free as in freedom does NOT intrinsically mean free as in absence of cost. Linux exists because of companies like Cygnus who successfully marketed the Bazaar, as opposed to the Cathedral, to investors.

    Stallman and Torvalds themselves have gone on record multiple times stating the utter lack of political motivation in being able to modify the software on your machine.

    • Julian
      link
      fedilink
      English
      11 year ago

      Yes, open source software often requires funding and corporate support because we live in a primarily capitalist society. That doesn’t make it capitalist itself.

      And I think the freedom foss offers is socialist - it necessitates cooperation, it’s open for all to see and contribute to, and the idea of ownership is very loose. It doesn’t matter what the political motivation is.

      • @genie
        link
        11 year ago

        open source software often requires funding and corporate support

        Specifically no. The Cygnus example shows how the Bazaar was proven to be valuable in the context of capitalism. The Bazaar can also be valuable in the context of socialism. The fact is that the motivations of organizing the Bazaar have nothing to do with the intrinsic value of that approach to development.

        I think the freedom foss offers is socialist

        The freedom of the free software movement is independent of political and economic motivations. Do not confuse the societal benefit of freedom with the political and economic model of socialism.

        the idea of ownership is very loose

        Again, I disagree. Under the spirit of the GNU Public License there is no ownership. The entire idea of copyleft is that it is the antithesis of copyright.

        It doesn’t matter what the political motivation is.

        Hey look, we agree on something :)